Assessment of State Clean Energy Policy Effectiveness

NREL summarizes its research on individual state clean energy policies and their impacts driven by goals related to the environment, economic development, renewable energy deployment, and energy security. Policies include renewable portfolio standards, feed-in tariffs, tax incentives, and loan programs.

However, ultimately, there is no "one size fits all" policy choice. Individual states and stakeholders often have different values and goals regarding clean energy policy. Furthermore, different policy and technology emphases have different impacts on overarching renewable energy policy drivers. And these impacts may vary over the short and long terms.

Impacts on Policy Drivers

This table shows the range of impacts renewable energy policy has on overarching clean energy policy drivers. NREL analysts used existing policy analysis data to evaluate policy mechanisms on effectiveness relative to state drivers.

Policies Reviewed	Environmental Policy	Economic Development	Energy Security	Renewable Energy Deployment
Renewable Portfolio Standards	Moderate/High	Limited/High	Limited/High	Limited/High
Renewable Fuel Standards	Limited/Moderate	Moderate/High	Moderate/High	Moderate/High
Renewable Energy Rebates	Limited	Limited/Moderate	Limited/High	Limited/High
Feed-in-Tariffs	High	Moderate/High	Limited/High	Moderate/High

Short-Term Impacts on Policy Priorities

These tables show the expected high, moderate and/or limited short-term impacts on specific policy priorities associated with renewable energy policy.

Environmental Policy Priorities
Policies Reviewed	Clean Air Benefits	GHG Emissions Reductions	Reduced Water Use	Reduce Water Pollution	Reduced Fuel Extraction Impacts	Preserve Sensitive Areas	Protected Species	Minimize Human Impacts
Renewable Portfolio Standards	High	High	High	High	High	High	Moderate/High	High
Renewable Fuel Standards	Limited/ Moderate	Limited/ Moderate	Limited/ Moderate	Limited/ Moderate	Limited/ Moderate	Limited/ Moderate	Limited/ Moderate	Limited/ Moderate
Renewable Energy Rebates	Limited	Limited	Limited	Limited	Limited	Limited	Limited	Limited
Feed-in-Tariffs	High	High	High	High	High	High	High	High

Economic Development Priorities
Policies Reviewed	Job Creation	State Economic Growth	Minimize Energy Costs	Minimize consumer Impacts	Energy Price Stability	Revitalize Rural Areas	Attract New Investment	Develop Locally Owned Assets
Renewable Portfolio Standards	Moderate/High	Moderate/High	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Limited
Renewable Fuel Standards	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	High	Moderate	Moderate
Renewable Energy Rebates	Limited	Limited	Limited	Limited	Limited	Limited	Moderate	Limited
Feed-in-Tariffs	High	High	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	High	High	High

Energy Security Priorities
Policies Reviewed	Abundant Energy Supply	Affordable Energy Supply	Reduce Transfer of Wealth Outside the U.S.	Net Export of Energy	Diversify Energy Resources	Peak Demand Reduction	Resilient Grid System	Encourage Distributed Energy Generation
Renewable Portfolio Standards	Moderate	Moderate	Limited	Limited	High	Moderate	Limited	Limited
Renewable Fuel Standards	Moderate	Moderate	High	Moderate	High	n/a	n/a	n/a
Renewable Energy Rebates	Limited	Limited	Limited	Limited	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	High
Feed-in-Tariffs	Moderate	Moderate	Limited	Moderate	High	Moderate	Limited	Moderate

Printable Version